Carey residents seek answers on water contamination at Monday night meeting

CAREY, Ohio — Residents in Carey are reportedly still living with the smell of hog manure in their water nearly two weeks after a manure leak contaminated a nearby creek.

Dozens of neighbors filled Crawford Township’s meeting hall Monday night, demanding answers from state and local officials about the safety of their water and the impact on wildlife.

Ohio EPA officials said last week that liquid hog manure from Wyandot Pork, a nearby farm, leaked into Poverty Run, causing it to turn red. Since then, residents said they have been afraid to use their wells.

“When I turn my kitchen sink and smell hog manure out of my drinking faucet, my dogs won’t even drink the water,” John Vaughn told WTOL. 

His daughter, Tasha, said she has been showering elsewhere since the leak.

“Since about a week and a half now,” she said. 

John also said that it’s been nearly a week since he’s seen deer near his farm. 

“The deer have all left, they have not been in the area since Wednesday,” John said. 

The Ohio Department of Natural Resources confirmed Monday it is investigating a fish kill connected to the contamination. Before then, the Ohio EPA had told WTOL that they were not aware of any impact on wildlife.

Officials said details of the fish kill investigation will be released once the investigation is complete.

In terms of well-water, Wyandot County Health Department officials said they have tested 34 wells in the area for E. coli, a bacteria commonly found in manure. So far, only one well has tested positive.

Still, many residents said the water continues to smell, and they worry about long-term safety, a concern that they wished they could have addressed with EPA and ODNR officials, except none were present at Monday’s meeting. 

“The response has always been ‘it’s an ongoing investigation—we’re not going to make a comment,’” said Crawford Township trustee Aaron Pahl. “I wish someone from the EPA would come down here and tell these people that.”